


Harder than before

by Hazandloulovedestiel



Category: One Direction
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-11
Updated: 2016-02-06
Packaged: 2018-05-13 05:26:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5696674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hazandloulovedestiel/pseuds/Hazandloulovedestiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Niall and Liam are moving in a bigger house, with the help of their two children.<br/>Oh.. Liam is blind. And he deals with it. Until the moment when everything in the house changes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

“Okay guys! We're here!” Niall announces excitedly, while turning off the car. He hasn’t been this excited in ages, probably sine he got married, and the day they got approved to adopt the kids. 

But now, he and Liam are taking the next big step of their life together and moving into a proper house.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t already been living in a house before, but it was a very noisy and small apartment with just one bedroom to be shared between two adults and two young children. It was okay to live in at first, but now the kids are growing and with Katie going to school, the family just needs more space.  
So, here they are.  
Niall removes his belt and opens his door and then goes back to help the kids out of the car.  
“Babe,” the blond calls to his husband, “Are you alright?”  
“Yeah, I’m good.” Liam answers, getting out of the car too and putting his hand at the top of it, waiting. Meanwhile Niall opens the boot and takes out the red stroller.  
“Alright love, I’m going to put Dylan in the stroller then I’ll help you, okay?” Niall asks, trying to do everything the fastest as possible in order not to let his husband wait too long.  
“Niall, don’t worry, take your time” Liam smiles in Niall’s general direction. “Katie, can you help me?"  
Niall watches as his daughter sidles up to her other dad.  
"Of course Daddy” she answers.  
Niall smiles.  
Sometimes he thinks Katie had to grow up faster than the other six year-olds, because in addition to be the older sister, she has to be mature enough to help her fathers, especially during the last few days of the move in which Niall was always busy preparing the last few things in the new house and she had to help “daddy Liam” with Dylan.  
It’s not that Liam isn’t able to look after his own son, but there are some things he can’t do without help. Like changing diapers. Liam can officially say that changing diapers is impossible.  
He’d tried to, but every time it finishes with him on the floor trying to find that stinky piece of paper, unable to orient himself anymore around the house.  
So, Katie touches her daddy’s leg and then Liam puts his hand on her back ready to being lead out of the driveway.  
If it’d hadn’t been clear enough before, let’s bring some things to light - Liam is blind.  
And while he’s struggling, Niall’s there to help him every step of the way along with their daughter Katie, so he’s been dealing with it pretty well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are again!  
> (I'm writing short chapters just to update more frequently)  
> Leave kudos and comments if you've liked it! 
> 
> Xx

‘Papa, are you ready?’ Katie asks, turning around to face Niall who is already reaching them.

 

With one hand he’s leading the stroller while the other is intertwined with Dylan’s, who refuses to being put into the buggy. ‘No buggy! I want to play!’ the baby cries.

 

Niall sighs, frustrated. So Liam, hearing the heavy breath of his husband, carefully turns around. Then, keeping one hand on Katie to steady himself, he gets down on his knees to talk to Dylan.

 

‘Hey Bud’ he says, searching for his son with his free hand and grabbing onto his litte fist. ‘Listen, Papa has organized the new house and now he wants to show it to us. Aren’t you curious about all the games and puppets Papa's put in your room?’ Dylan jumps in surprise ‘Puppets?’ he squeaks.

 

‘Of course’ Liam says, a sweet smile before letting go of Dylan's hand and pushing himself up into a standing position.

 

Niall looks at the scene from behind. He admires how Liam can deal with his blindness and the kids together. He can always make them smile and helps him in moment like these, when Niall would just get frustrated with Dylan.

 

But Liam is always there, assisting him.

 

‘Katie, the house is the third from left. I can’t look after you brother and guide the stroller. How about you go with Dylan? Me and Daddy will follow you!’. The girl nods so Liam removes his hand from her and reaches out. Niall knows that he's trying to find something to stabilize himself, that he doesn’t like standing in the middle of nothing. He knows his lover so much that he can even decode all of his facial expressions. He immediately understands when Liam feels lost or he’s afraid to bump into someone because he always moves his eyes quickly and starts to blink, like he’s actually trying to see.

Every time he does that Niall’s heart breaks a bit, but he’ll never tell Liam about it because he knows that, even if he’s blind, he loves his life, his kids and his husband.

 

So he hurries to approach his husband and to slightly touch his upper arm. In this way, Liam instantly knows there’s someone near him. He grins at the thought that his husband’s touch still makes him have shivers down his spine.

Then, after reminding Katie to keep an eye on his brother, Liam receives a soft pair of lips to his forehead.

Shivers. Again.

 

‘Thanks for the help babe. I was getting pretty frustrated and stressed out from everything.’ Niall admits while shifting himself so that Liam could grab his upper arm.

‘It's no problem, Niall, you know this. I love you.’

‘Love you too’ he says and he waits as Liam runs his hand over both the air and Niall’s arm before finding his elbow to hook his hand through.

Meanwhile, the kids have reached their new house.

‘Daddy! Papa! There’s a garden!’ the older sibling says ‘A swing!’ Dylan adds.

Niall chuckles, ‘You like it?’ he asks, followed by the cheering of their kids.

Then he turns to his husband.

‘Ok love, we’re here’ Niall informs Liam, who has never set foot in the house. They'd come up with the idea that it would easier for Liam to learn the lay out once the position of the furniture had been picked and everything would be organized.

Liam is excited. A lot. So much that he isn’t even counting the steps to the entrance. That’s something he normally does for important places. But never mind. He’ll do it next time.

At the main entrance, Niall finds the keys and manages to open the door, pushing the stroller in and making sure Liam is ok.

‘Kids, come on in!’ Niall shouts, after ensuring Liam's entry was accident free.

‘Welcome home’ the blond whispers in his husband’s ear.

‘You too’ Liam giggles. He's so handsome. Niall can’t take his eyes off him. He’s wearing a tight pair of black jeans, a plain t-shirt, a red checkered jacket and black sunglasses. The look is really doing something for Niall. If he could, he would make out with him instantly.

‘Hey guys, why don’t you go upstairs and look for your new rooms?’ Liam asks. Maybe, he can read people’s minds.

But Niall actually knows why Liam said it.

‘Yes guys, go upstairs. Daddy and me are going to do a home tour’ he says, as his husband tightens the grip on his arm. He seems very nervous. Niall can’t really understand why, though.

So, as soon as the children are going upstairs, he asks Liam if everything is fine.

‘Of course, baby, just tired’.

But that’s not the truth. Or at least, it's not the whole truth. 

Liam is worried about the orienting-himself-in-a-new-house situation.

That’s actually one of the reasons why they moved so late into a bigger house. Liam knows by heart all the angles of their old house and he was worried because he recognizes that at the start, it''ll be incredibly hard to adjust. He knows he's going to stumble over everything and that he'll probably have to use his cane.

He hates it. That stick. 

When he’s out he almost always has someone that accompanies him. It could be his best friend Zayn, or his sisters, or Niall. It’s much easier for him to move around the city that way, without having to drag that stick around and run into things anyways or having to ask around for directions that he inevitably can barely use. Instead, he’s used to grabbing a friend/family member's arm and being lead. But he can’t do it in the house too because Niall’s not at home all the time, ready to be a guide for Liam to get to the kitchen or bathroom, or even the garden. (Now, don't get him wrong, Niall would happily do that, but he doesn’t want to be even more of a burden to his husband's already heavy plate).

This is why, when he feels Niall’s starting to walk, he tightens his grip on his husband's arm and starts to follow him, concentrating on counting each step.

‘Okay. Here, to your right there’s the living room, but in front of you,’ Niall explains while putting Liam’s hand at the top of it ‘there is the couch.’ 

‘Oh. That’s very soft.' Liam says, a small surprised smile on his lips.

'I knew you would like it.' Niall exclaims and Liam leans to place a kiss on his husband's cheek. 

-

After having showed Liam around the first floor, it's time to go upstairs. Niall gently takes Liam's hand that was resting on his upper arm, and places it out so he can grab onto the handrail. He switches sides, so that Liam can grab the railing and still use him for support on his other side. 

'Why did I you change sides?' Liam huffs, so Niall explains. 

'To our right there's the wall with the handrailing, so now you can hold that and use me at the same time.' Niall says, taking the steps first and making sure Liam has the time to step up behind him along the way. 

Liam grumps, too busy counting the steps of the stairs to answering. 

Once they're on the second floor Niall adds, 'Love, I've put a stair gate here.' putting Liam's hand at the top of the metal. 'This way if the kids wake up, they won't fall down the stairs or anything.' 

'Perfect' Liam states, smiling towards Niall's voice.

He's very happy. They're happy. He can do this. 

-

It takes two weeks, of which involves lots of broken glasses and knee scrapes, but Liam can say he's far more comfortable in the house now. 

'Hey baby' he says, hand trailing searching along the bed until he bumps into the edge of the wood. 'You awake?' 

'Nngh, good morning, love' Niall says with a rough voice, having just woken up. Liam grins sheepishly. 

'Hi' the blind man reaches for his husband under the blankets. 'Niall, I'm sorry I woke you up, but I don't know what time it is' 

'Mhh' Niall grumps, turning to the other side. 

'C'mon, sleeping beauty' Liam says, kissing the top of Niall's head and smelling his shampoo. 

The blond opens his eyes 'Okay man, you won' he gives up. He knows sometimes Liam's just bored and wants a bit of company. 'But just to let you know. It's Sunday. And it's 7:03. And I am awake. At 7:03am. For you.'

Liam giggles 'Well, I appreciate it mate.' 

'Mate? What am I now? Your new friend?' Niall says with a playfully snippy tone. 

'I'll be downstairs with Katie' Liam says, ignoring him and already approaching the door. 

It only takes two minutes and then Niall is downstairs joining them too. The moment when he spots Liam, though, he understands something's wrong. 

'Liam, you ok?' Niall walks over to Liam, who's expression is full of pain. He's squeezing and apple in his hand hard enough to probably pierce the skin with his nails. 

'Yeah, yeah. It's just. Headache.' 

Ohh. That explains it. 

Essentially, that's not a proper headache, caused by dehydration or anything else, when Liam gets massive headaches they're always a symptom of his blindness. Liam described it for Niall, once. He said it felt like someone was pushing their finger deeper and deeper into the center of his head and digging around in his brain.

The doctor says it's and incredibly powerful migraine.

Liam has then once a month, sometimes not even that much. But for him it's the worst thing ever because, when he's in pain it's incredibly disorienting, and he loses almost all sense of where he is, which is incredibly difficult for someone who can't see. 

'I'm sorry baby. Let me walk you to the couch.' Niall says. He suspects Liam was awake for this reason but hadn't wanted to spring it on him first thing. Niall knows Liam doesn't know the new house very well, and because of his migraine it could be dangerous for him to walk without knowing what's going on or where things are.

The most shocking thing to happen that mornign though, is that Liam accepts the offer of being lead to the couch without any kind of struggle, he always wants to do things on his own when he's in pain, but he simply grabs Niall's hand. After tightening his hold on Niall's hand his fingers travel all the way up Niall's arm to his bicep, the movements stiff and cautious as if Liam's afraid he's going to lose Niall's arm.

Niall guides Liam to the soft couch and makes him lay down. 

'I'm going to go get your medicine, alright? It's upstairs.' Niall says, already headed to the steps. 

-

Fortunately, the meds work and the pain decreases after a couple of hours.


	3. Chapter 3

After Liam is feeling better, he's still laid on the couch.  
He's frustrated about all the things that happen to him. 

Until a little hand is put on his arm.

'Daddy!' Dylan shouts. 

Liam didn't really expect someone to be in the same room, so he jumps a little, but as soon as he recognizes his son's voice he says 'Hi baby. Are you ok?' 

'Mhh.. Just bored' the baby sighs. 'Katie is doing her homework and I don't know what to do'

Liam smiles, keeping the eyes closed. He doesn't use the sunglasses indoors.

He's not one of the blind people who want to hide their eyes. In fact he uses the sunglasses outside mainly because the doctor told him to do so. Apparently the use of sunglasses can decrease the pain of his headaches. 

'Do you want me to go to play with you in the backyard?' The man asks and is rewarded with loud enthusiasm.

'Yes!' 

'Okay then' Liam says, starting to moving in a sitting position. The moment he does so he hears feet moving down the stairs. He recognizes those steps. 

'Liam, where are you going?' Niall asks, his voice cautious with an undercurrent of anxiety. 

'Out to play with Dylan' Liam says, while putting his hand to the couch to give him the force to stand up. He's actually pretty dizzy and Niall notices it, so he rushes towards him, putting a hand on his husband's arm, to help to stand him up. 

'I'm fine, babe' Liam says, understanding Niall's gesture.

'Just making sure' the blond kisses his cheeks. 

'Do you want to play with us?' Dylan says.

'Maybe later, honey' Niall answers, removing his hand from Liam. 'But be careful. Both of you kids' 

'Yes, bye-bye Papa!' Liam says teasingly, while trying to follow Dylan's steps. 

Niall shakes his head and goes in the kitchen, ready to prepare the dinner. 

\--

'Dinner is ready' Niall says out to the backyard where Liam is sitting on the ground cross-legged with Dylan running around him. They seem to be having fun so he heads out to see them. 

'What did you prepare daddy?' Dylan asks and Niall smiles. 

'If you go to wash your hands, you'll find out!'

As Liam hears Dylan running home, he looks in Niall's direction and holds his hand up to be grabbed by his husband. 

'Did you guys have fun?' The blond asks Liam while pulling him up and then wrapping their arms together so he can lead Liam to the house. 

'Ohh you bet'

'Step' Niall whispers in order to let his lover know what was coming when they reach the house and Liam lifts his leg up, to be met with the parquet of his house. Trying to be as casual as possible Niall says 'I was wondering if we can invite the boys over tomorrow evening'

'Of course baby' 

Niall hesitates 'But.. How do you feel about it?' 

'What do you mean?' Liam says, looking irritated at the question.

'I mean, do you feel about inviting someone in a house you don't even know very well after having had a very bad day?'.   
Niall winces, not wanting to sound like he's patronizing Liam, but they sound that way anyways and Liam stops walking.

'I'm not made of porcelain, Niall' Liam snaps. 

'Yeah, baby I know. Relax. I'm just worried about your headache.' 

Liam closes his eyes and sighs heavily. 

'I'm sorry-just. You know me.' 

With this sentence Liam says nothing, but actually it means everything. And Niall knows it. 

'It's okay baby. I know these days have been very stressful for you. They are for me too. I was just worryied about you but if you feel good with inviting the boys over, then I'll call them.' Niall says stroking Liam's hand. 

'I'd love to invite the boys here. I think it'll help take my mind off everything stressing me out at the moment and the difficulties in getting aquainted to a new house, even if just for a night.'

'Of course my love'. 

They continue towards the table where the the kids are waiting for them and Niall leads Liam to his seat so the man can find the chair on his own and sit. 

After the dinner, Niall calls the boys to propose the idea and they all accept (obviously). Afterwards Liam puts Katie to bed while Niall does the same with Dylan. Both of them switching to kiss and tuck in the other child so that they both get goodnights from both their dads.

Later on into the night they talk and cuddle under the blankets. 

And later than that they made love.


	4. Chapter 4

Niall is the first to be awake, as per usual. 

He has to get ready for work, considering it's a Monday, and he's an English teacher at the middle school. He's honestly in love with his job, it fits his personality very well and he's always able to be closer to his students and he understands them easier than some of the older teachers do. 

He can't imagine himself doing anything else. 

It's hard getting out of bed and out of his husband's arms every morning, but he does it anyways, and today he places a kiss on Liam's still sleeping form before he starts getting dressed in his typical routine. 

He puts on his jacket while he goes into the kitchen to prepare a cup of coffee for himself, a cup of tea for Liam, and two glasses of milk for Dylan and Katie who both go to school. It takes only a few minutes for Liam to come downstairs and find him.

The daily drill.

'Niall?' Liam questions with a sleepy voice, smelling the toasts and eggs for the children. 

'Yes, babe. Over here.' Niall assures Liam. Liam will always call for Niall, even though every morning finds Niall preparing breakfast for everyone.

Liam puts his hand on the handrail and carefully heads down the stairs. Going down the stairs is honestly one of the most difficult things for Liam to do (especially sing he refuses to use the cane) because, while getting up the stairs you have room for error in where to put your foot. Climbing down means not knowing where your foot will fall, how much weight you've put down, and sometimes you can have your foot end up in the wrong place which leads to tripping, falling, and getting hurt. 

He prefers to take his time getting downstairs instead of rushing and getting hurt. 

He's almost walked down all the stairs when he feels Niall's hand at his waist, and as he reaches the first floor Niall's hand slips around to rub at his back and he gives him a kiss. 

'Good morning' 

'Morning' the brunet mumbles, blinking a few times while he's being lead by Niall to the kitchen table. As soon as his hand touches the wood he feels around to find his cup of tea.

'Careful, honey.' Niall warns, as he watches Liam grabbing the cup that's still decently hot. 

'Mhh' Liam grumps as he tastes the Yorkshire tea. 

'Are you working today?' Niall asks, sipping his coffee and reading the newspaper. 

'I think so. My email box is full.' Liam says, his eyes unseeingly resting on the wall in front of him, 'Are you going to wake the children up, Ni?' He yawns. 

'If you want, yeah.' Niall says looking up from the newspaper and smiling. He knows how his husband can be lazy at mornings.

Liam is definitely not a morning person. 

Niall stands up from the chair and goes to his children's rooms to wake them up. 

It takes ten minutes of complaining but Niall finally manages to get Dylan and Katie out of bed and after other twenty minutes, he manages to kiss his husband, and to leave with the children the main door. 

Liam's still in the kitchen, his desire to actually get to work is very low, but he has to do it anyways. So he gets up and feels his way to the study room, where he searches for his laptop and headphones, finding them on his desk, and bringing them out to the living room so he can settle on the couch. He sits down and sighs. After having had all these days off, it was going to be hard to start work again, instead of being with his family all the time. 

He plugs the headphones into the laptop and immediately Siri starts to inform him about 87 new emails he has to read. He sighs again. 

It's going to be a long morning. 

\--

'Baby, I'm home!' Niall shouts from the entrance. 

'Hi Ni' Liam says and stands up to reach his husband and yawning. 

'Tired, Liam?'

'A bit maybe, it's been a long day.'

'Are you feeling okay? Was it too much, too soon?' He asks concerned

'Niall, take it easy. You know how I hate Mondays.' Liam huffs 

'I know' Niall says, still not fully convinced about the answer. 'Anyway, can you help me with the dinner?' He adds. 

That's something he always does to make Liam remember he's not helpless. Every time he asks him to help him with something that he wasn't allowed to do when he was younger (because Liam's mum and sisters were always very concerned about him hurting himself), it makes him happy. And if he can distract Liam from his job, then maybe he'll feel a little better too. 

'Of course I can help you' he says, smiling and grabbing immediately Niall's arm. 'What were you planning to cook, chef?' He asks giggling

'Home made pizza' Niall informs him and leads the way. As soon as they reach the kitchen counter, Niall puts Liam's hand on it. 'You could help me cutting the ingredients' the blond suggests. 

Other people wouldn't even think about putting a knife in Liam's hands, but Niall knows he's capable and so he doesn't hinder his husband and instead encourages him to do difficult things, so that his blindness doesn't make him completely helpless. With this in mind he places a cutting board on the table and hands Liam a little knife. 

'Okay so, on the cutting board I've already put mushrooms and tomatoes that you have to cut.'

'I can tell' Liam says, touching the food under his hands and starting to divide the mushrooms in four parts. 'So, how did work go?' Liam asks after a few moments of silence with them both preparing food. 

'Same as usual. The students wrote some poems today.' Niall laughs while turning the oven on.

'I'm sure their teacher thought them how to write very nice poetry' Liam smirks.

'Ohh, yeah. They have a pretty cool English teacher, you know. And he's also very handsome' Niall jokes and smiles wider listening to Liam's laugh. 

'Oh! Don't forget that there's Katie's birthday next week. I wanted to remind you so that we'd have enough time to buy her presents.' Liam says, changing the topic of the conversation. 

'Oh, right!'

'Don't tell me you forget about her birthday!' Liam stops cutting the vegetables, his voice teasing.'You! Mr. I-always-remember-everybody's-birthday!'

'Shut up Liam! She will hear you!' Niall says, attempting to look offended, but just finishing laughing harder. 

'Yeah, well... Turns out I don't have such a bad memory!' Liam smirks. 

'Yes.. But you've got an advantage' Niall says, approaching his husband.

'And what's my advantage?'

'Your advantage is the fact that your head is bloody massive!' 

'Consider me offended' Liam turns around, trying to be upset, but he can hear Niall's laughter and his mouth doesn't quite form a frown. 

'C'mon baby!' Niall says, hugging Liam form behind. 'I love you! Even with your big head.' He adds, kissing his back. 

'Oh you're a regular comedian, alright.' Liam says, raising an eyebrow and Niall laughs. 

'I know, right?' 

\--

'Mmm! Supper smells really good!' Katie announces, running down the stairs and approaching her two daddies to the kitchen. Liam is sitting in one of the stools and Niall has his elbows rested on the table so he's facing his husband. As they hear her daughter reaching them, they stop talking and turn to face Katie. 

'Oh does it?' Niall asks and Liam grins. 

'Papa Niall has prepared pizza' Liam says 

'We. We prepared pizza' Niall leans to kiss Liam.

'Whatever!' Katie says and clears her throat. 'When will we eat?' 

'It depends on when the boys arrive, sweetie' Liam says playing with his sunglasses. Niall hadn't noticed his husband had taken the sunglasses from the office room where he typically kept them. His cane was out as well, which was a shock. 

But, it seemed that Liam had made a decision, and Niall knows that Liam knows he can ask Niall for help around, but maybe he wants to be free when they chill with the guys, without Niall leading him all around the house all the time.  
He's always trying to be incredibly independent. So Niall decides to leave it be, and to let Liam use the cane if he wants, but he's going to make sure that his husband knows it's literally no problem to ask for help when he needs or wants it. 

His thoughts are interrupted by the doorbell, which is closely followed by a little jump from Liam. 

Liam worriedly nibbles his lip, it'll be his first time in the house with people other than his kids and Niall with him, and he's definitely nervous. He puts the sunglasses on and grads the cane, using it to help direct him to the front door. 

Before he reaches the doorknob though, Niall stops him with a hand to his elbow. 'You know, you don't have to do this, Liam.' 

'I don't wanna be a burden, Niall. This is supposed to be a fun night with the guys.' 

Niall sighs and strokes Liam's arm. 'Baby, you won't ever be a burden. Let's make a deal. You keep the cane in your pocket for just in case, or if you need to go somewhere by yourself, but for now you let me help you. It's no trouble at all, I love helping you.' 

Liam flushes. 'Okay I guess.' He says. He's folding the cane up and putting it in his pocket when there's a yell from upstairs. 

'Daddy! There's someone out the door!' Dylan shouts and Niall laughs. 

'Yes baby! We heard it!' Niall answers, shifting himself to let Liam's hand pass through his upper arm. 

'C'mon Papa Niall. Or Dylan will scold us again' Liam giggles and places his chin at the top of his lover's shoulder for a moment. 

'Oh now I'm scared' Niall laughs while opening the door.

There's a cheer from the group which is quickly followed by hugs, greetings, and everyone being invited into the new house. 

'Hi man! How are you?' Liam recognizes Zayn talking to him. 

'Hey Zayn!' He responds and hugs his friend with his free hand. 

After having also welcomed Louis and Harry, they head further into the house.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave comments about what you think please!  
> All the love  
> Xx


End file.
